Archive for Uncategorized

I think I am just going to say goodbye to the whole blogging thing. I don’t have that much to say or the time to say it. I’ll stay active on Facebook (www.facebook.com/dcspinks), and maybe from time to time I’ll post a note that would have been posted here on katagrapho. But for now, I’m done.

The SBL has received an NEH planning grant to develop a website, “The World of the Bible: exploring people, places, and passages.” The site is intended for general audiences and will share scholarly views and encourage critical engagement with the Bible, including its ancient contexts and interpretive legacy.

We encourage you to share this survey with people who are not bible scholars—your students, perhaps, or friends and family. The goal is to gain a diverse representation of our intended audience and to assess their current level of familiarity with and interest in the Bible.

I just did a quick search on ATLA for articles on the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:17-49). Very little turned up. I’ve long thought this was a neglected piece of the NT. Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount gets much more attention. It seems, in fact, that Luke’s sermon is rarely treated on its own; instead, it is included as a part of the discussion of the SoM.

I’ve been actively involved in the re-opening of the blog for the Christian Theology and the Bible (CTB) section of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). Right now it has posts with information about the section and other related conferences dealing with the issues of the Bible and Christian theology. Eventually we plan to have regular posts by various CTB members and like-minded scholars. Check it out and keep an eye on it for more activity in the future.

My wife surprised me with a Kindle 2 on my birthday Wednesday. It’s a wonderful gift, because it is something I would never get for myself and its a gadget! So far I’m enjoying it. I’ve managed to get some blog reading done and I’ve downloaded some free stuff (Polycarp, Aquinas, and others). What I can’t seem to find and what I would love to have is the Greek New Testament. I’ve found some free Westcott-Hort versions that I could convert, but I want the standard critical text used in NA27 and UBS4rev. I’m willing to pay for it. Does anybody know if it is available for the Kindle?

Last weekend I completed the Winter class I was teaching in Seattle. No traveling to teach for a while. I think I might have something lined up for next Spring. For the next several terms, I will stick to online classes (OT and NT Intro with NCU and Orientation with Fuller).

Fuller’s quarter ended on Friday. Papers from the Seattle class (Exegesis of Acts) and the online Orientation class have been submitted. I’ve got a virtual (everything was submitted electronically) stack of papers to grade in the next two weeks—not to mention the slew of grading I let sit during the quarter. This is the time when I earn the money—what little it is—I’m paid to teach these courses.

I wonder if using Oliver Stone and his many biopic movies is a good way to discuss Luke’s historic narrative of the early church. Like Luke, Stone does his homework—whether we agree with his interpretation of history is another question. Like Luke, he has to be selective with the scenes he retells—and, with the ones he does retell, some get more attention than others. Like Luke, he has a purpose other than reporting history.